It’s been recently announced that Sharon Osbourne will be leaving The Talk and this all comes two weeks after the on-air controversial conversation between her and her co-host Sheryl Underwood. I wanted to talk about what really contributed towards all of this spinning out of control.
The tweet that sparked all of this was her expressing support for Piers Morgan after he got ousted from Good Morning Britain for his comments about Meghan Markle.
There was of course backlash in response but she doubled down. Instead of apologizing, she said “I sent out a tweet saying I stand by Piers, I do because he has the right to his opinion – that’s what he gets paid for,” in a comment to BBC World News.
The problem with her statement is that it’s tone deaf. While one does have the right to speak their truth, in this instance it’s questionable whether it’s Piers’s truth because it’s in relation to Meghan Markle’s personal experiences with mental health (specifically suicidal thoughts) and racism. Those are two rather serious topics that cannot be easily dismissed and the comments were bound to spark a lot of controversy.
He has no insight and no way of knowing whether or not these things happened so dismissing them and saying he doesn’t believe a word of what she says is problematic. Sharon saying that she stands with him and that he has a right to speak his truth is ignoring the fact that he was in the wrong and for years had badgered a woman who is now talking about having suicidal thoughts and racist experiences. It’s also very much not his place to speak about the racism that a woman of color may or may not have experienced.
Despite receiving a lot of backlash for her comments, instead of really thinking them through and educating herself, she then spoke on it and she further doubled down on The Talk, saying she was merely supporting her friend. Worse still was when she demanded that her co-host Sheryl Underwood, a black woman, educate her on what was so racist about his comments. It’s very important for people to get to know what constitutes problematic language and while we’re all learning, some things are particularly inflammatory and this moment was certainly that. The consensus view is that it’s not the place of the marginalized or minority groups to educate people about their struggles because they’re constantly having to face the exhaustion of dealing with those struggles while having to explain to other people how their actions contribute to those struggles.
Unsurprisingly, the sound bite did not go over well. She eventually issued an apology but this was of course too little too late because she’d already doubled down twice. Your first response is the most important in crisis communications — it needs to be ideal and if you’re going to apologize, you should do it sooner rather than later. Her apologizing after doubling down made her statement appear inauthentic, as though she had been pressured due to the backlash — it should go without saying that you don’t want to seem insincere with whatever statements you’re putting out. She claimed she panicked, felt blindsided and got defensive but it did nothing to calm the storm.
Then came the accusations by her former co-hosts saying that she had made racist and homophobic comments in the past. These accusations were leveled by Holly Robinson Peete and Leah Remini. Holly Peete alleged Sharon had called her, a black woman, “too ghetto” and that this had contributed to her being asked to leave the show. Leah Remini also gave an interview alleging that Sharon had called her former colleague Julie Chen, an Asian woman, “slanty eyes” and called her co-host Sara Gilbert who is gay, a “p***y licker” and a ‘fish eater.” These further exacerbated the situation but what’s even clearer, is that Sharon’s missteps opened the door for these allegations to come to light.
And that wasn’t the final misstep from the Osbourne camp. Her spokesperson responded to the accusations with a very inadequate, tone deaf, and dismissive response:
“The only thing worse than a disgruntled former employee is a disgruntled former talk show host,” he said in a statement to CNN. “For 11 years Sharon has been kind, collegial and friendly with her hosts as evidenced by throwing them parties, inviting them to her home in the UK and other gestures of kindness too many to name. Sharon is disappointed but unfazed and hardly surprised by the lies, the recasting of history and the bitterness coming out at this moment.”
The allegations are quite severe and the accusers have a great deal of credibility behind both of their names so calling them mere “disgruntled former talk show hosts” is not an effective strategy. It was also an inadequate argument; simply because she threw parties and invited them to her home, does not mean that she could not have said these racist and homophobic things.
CBS put out a statement announcing Sharon’s departure from the show.
“The events of the March 10 broadcast were upsetting to everyone involved, including the audience watching at home. As part of our review, we concluded that Sharon’s behavior toward her co-hosts during the March 10 episode did not align with our values for a respectful workplace.”
While this was a wise move, the statement appears to be missing the crucial detail of how the accusations of past problematic comments played a role. CBS is now facing some backlash from Osbourne supporters and others who claim the network is attacking her free speech for agreeing with Piers. Sharon is also reportedly looking to sue the company. While it may not have stopped the backlash against CBS, the more salient element to have emphasized is how allegations of past racist and homophobic comments acted in concert with her March 10 actions to contribute to the organization’s stance.
CONTROL, by Fiayo. 